Page 127 of Best Man
“SHOOT IT, SASHA!” Paulina yelled at the TV. “SHOOT!”
But it was a good thing Sasha was the famous hockey player and not her, because it turned out he knew exactly what he was doing after all. Instead of shooting, Sasha’s dancing with the puck bought an opening in the middle of the ice. He sent a laser of a pass between the defender’s legs, right to Jax, who was standing all alone in the slot.
Jax, with the big shot already cocked, skated into the pass. His stick hit the ice with acrack.
Paulina, Piper, Mom and Dad—no one saw the puck go into the net. What theydidsee was the absolute pandemonium break out on the ice once it had. The Devils mobbed Jax, jumping up and down, laughing and howling like coyotes as they celebrated the game tying goal at the buzzer.
The crowd was going so crazy, the building sounded like the roof was about to blow off.
“HE DID IT!” Piper shouted, jumping up and down. “JAX DID IT!”
Heck, they went so crazy in the hospital room, a nurse came rushing by to make sure everything was okay.
“WE TIED THE GAME!” Paulina yelled back at her.
“Ah. Right,” the nurse said with a roll of her eyes—she must’ve not been a hockey fan.
Mom wasn’t exactly a big hockey fan herself, either. “Now what happens?” she asked.
“Now it’s sudden death overtime,” Piper said.
“Which means?”
“Whoever scores next, wins,” Paulina said with a gulp.
39
Niko
No one could sit still during the fifteen-minute intermission. Some of the Devils paced the room, antsy to get back out on the ice and finish this. Others sat at their stalls, but their feet wouldn’t stop bouncing.
“Keep it up, boys,” Dane said, trying to keep the good vibes going. “We’ve gotallthe momentum right now.”
Reavo pointed through the wall, where the visitor’s locker room would be. “How do you think those guys feel right now?”
“Probably about as good as Niko felt when he got that cock chop!” Parisi said, making a karate chop motion with his hands, and everyone burst into laughter.
“Thanks for reminding me,” Niko groaned. He loosened his girdle and dropped his pants between his skates. He yanked his compression leggings down to take a peek at his cock. His balls still ached like hell, but hell, everythinglookednormal, if not a little swollen.
“Bro,” Jax said, surprised. “Why aren’t you wearing your cup?”
Niko grabbed the jock strap out of his locker and held it up. “I was in such a rush to get out there, I forgot to put it on.”
The boys, realizing Niko had taken that low blowsansprotection, all groaned as ifthey’djust been slashed in the balls.
“This Russian psycho,” Parisi began, pointing, “played with no cup. So we couldwinthe Cup.”
The boys threw their heads back and laughed. The energy in the room was great—they were loose, they were having fun, and more importantly, theybelieved. This game was theirs. The Cup belonged to them. They just had to go out there and get it done.
Dane smirked. “That’s a great story and all, but please put your jock strap on, Niko.”
“I am, I am,” he laughed. He undressed in a hurry, stepped into the jock strap and pulled it up and over his leggings. “Yana is the cutest thing in the world. But someday, I might want a boy, you know?”
“Hear that? He’s already planning his next kid,” Jax observed with a chuckle.
“Just do us a favor and make sure the next one won’t come untilafterthe playoffs,” Parisi joked.
“Remember this past summer, when you wouldn’t shut up about how much you hate kids?” Reavo asked.
